Cosmic 101

There are many misconceptions regarding astrology. For instance, the horoscopes listed in the daily newspapers are only based on the sign position of the Sun, whereas full natal astrology takes many more things into account. The application of astrology to people can be approached as a study of individuality, from either a psychological perspective or on a predictive, event-based level.

The main concepts to understand in astrology are the Planets, Signs, Houses and the relationships between them, which are called Aspects. From an astrological point of view, each person's unique individuality is based on the endless variations of these four components. Actually, astrology is a scientific study of individuality, and the astrological chart provides a very precise picture of the unique way each person is "wired." In fact, due to the varying speed of each planet's orbit around the Sun, a person's birth chart is not duplicated for more than 25,000 years!

The energies that were active in the atmosphere at the exact moment of your birth were stamped on the cellular level of your very being and remain a part of you during this lifetime. Your birth chart is actually a schematic: a graph that shows this "inner wiring" you were born with, but what you do with that wiring is up to you. In Cosmic Consciousness, the birth chart is actually a depiction of your current incarnation, a 'snap shot' if you will, of the hundred or so years out of your eternal life that you are spending embodied here on Earth. Astrology is a tool to gain objective awareness of your own patterns of behavior. We all have tendencies that lead to inappropriate actions and feelings of isolation and unhappiness. The trick is to discover our own "glitches" and empower ourselves to avoid them. With this objective knowledge we can choose to make adjustments that result in our life operating more smoothly.

Astrology itself is not "spiritual," yet it can be an effective tool for opening the way to accessing our spirituality. By understanding our psychological and emotional wiring (as objectively pictured in the astrology chart) we can accept and work with ourselves with more understanding and detachment. This calms the turmoil of the inner personality and allows our innate spiritual nature to emerge. And by understanding the psychological wiring of others through their astrological charts, we can more easily accept their unique differences without taking it so personally; we can learn to enjoy the variety rather than seeking to change others into an extension of ourselves. So although astrology itself is not spiritual, it can lead to important spiritual experiences, such as unconditional loving acceptance of ourselves and others.

In Cosmic Consciousness the entire universe is seen to be projected from your individual quantum energy field. Reality has never really been ‘out there,’ it is all contained within your being. Everyone experiences the universe differently, because each of us is generating the cosmos from within our own consciousness. The cosmos is the reflection of your spiritual body, and its vastness reveals the truth about your higher Self, which is that the spiritual Self is the greatest aspect of your existence. The PLANETS in the solar (soular) system are actually projections of the archetypal energies that each and every human being contains within our personal energy field. We are all working with the same archetypes, but we experience them and utilize their energies differently because each person expresses a slightly different aspect of the Oneness. Consciousness and karmic circumstances make you the individual you are.

In learning to use astrology in your life, it is essential to gain some understanding of the four most important components of any birth chart: the Planets, Signs, Houses (now Mansions or Hours) and Aspects. What follows is some basic information you will need in order to interpret and use your chart. Having your chart handy as you read this information will allow you to begin to tune-in to what the combinations of planet, sign and house feel like in your own chart, and this is a great way to begin to understand how astrology works.

The Planets: Show the universal URGES we all need to experience and express on planet Earth. They represent the basic archetypal energies that every living being works with on this planet. (For example, the planet Venus represents the universal desire to love and be loved).
There are ten primary planets in Astrology: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. In addition to the planets, there are three very important placements that most astrologers use: the North Node of the Moon, the South Node of the Moon and Chiron. In the last 5-7 years, astronomers have given names to many newly discovered celestial bodies, some known as Centaurs, some as Planetoids, some as TNO's or Trans-Neptunian objects. When a planet is named, it becomes a full blown archetype that we can recognize, and the dozens of newly defined planets represent very accurately the explosion of consciousness that humanity has seen in recent times. In astrology, the Sun and Moon are called planets and the Earth is not mentioned, because the heavenly bodies are viewed from the position of the Earth. Astrology studies how the heavenly bodies affect the Earth, and how they influence living beings.

The Signs: Represent the quality of consciousness  we are focusing our energies through. Every one of us contains all 12 signs within our quantum energy field, and these signs, taken together, offer the unity consciousness that each of us is capable of and well on our way to attaining at this time. (For example, Venus , archetype of the capacity to Love and be Loved, in Aries, sign of inner awakening to ones's Self, would indicate that the person is ardent, self-focused within relationships, and enjoys new beginnings).

The Hours or Mansions: formerly known as the houses, represent the various parts of our consciousness, and there is one for the spiritual components of Power, Love and Wisdom, all the way through to the Mental, Emotional and Physical sectors. In each mansion we experience our Self through a very specific focus, to learn about our own skills and gifts, and to have a chance, on a regular basis, to clear the karmic debris that has prevented that part of our consciousness from being the light-filled sector of the Self that it actually is.  The hours now run clockwise, beginning with 12-o'clock, at the top of the chart (the midheaven), and Capricorn begins the ring of signs in Cosmic Concsiousness. This is because Capricorn is most closely associated with the Galactic Center, the black hole at the center of our Galaxy from which all we experience emanates. This Galactic Center can also be called Source. As human beings in a physical embodiment we actually begin with the spiritual Self and bring all the Light we are through the four body system into the physical Self.

The Aspects: Show the mathematical, energetic relationship between the archetypal urges. In Cosmic Consciousness the connections between the planets take on much more empowering energetics than they once did in 3D consciousness. For example, an opposition is no longer a diconnection between two opposite things... it is a polarity that connects those things, and actually reveals a bridge that allows for constant and easy transport between the two parts of something that seemed completely separate from each other when seen from the separation consciousness of 3D. Major aspects represent the more dynamic relationships that exist and in Cosmic Consciousness, the formerly know 'minor' aspects are now known as 'subtle', because they can be just as important, they just function at a more low key level.